52 years ago today
Hank Aaron Breaks Babe Ruth's Home Run Record
On April 8, 1974, before a sell-out crowd of 53,775 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Hank Aaron hit his 715th career home run off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing, surpassing Babe Ruth's record of 714 that had stood for 39 years. Aaron had endured years of racist death threats, hate mail, and the requirement of round-the-clock FBI protection simply for pursuing the record. He had asked baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn to play him equally in his home games and on the road so the record would be broken fairly; Kuhn refused. Despite the hatred, Aaron maintained extraordinary composure and dignity throughout. He finished his career with 755 home runs, a record that itself stood until Barry Bonds broke it in 2007. Aaron's achievement remains a defining moment of athletic excellence under unimaginable pressure.
This day, across time
- 1492DiedLorenzo de' Medici
- 1820EventVenus de Milo Discovered on Milos
- 1869BornHarvey Cushing
- 1892BornMary Pickford
- 1904EventFrance and Britain Sign the Entente Cordiale
- 1918BornBetty Ford
- 1929BornJacques Brel
- 1938BornKofi Annan
- 1941BornVivienne Westwood
- 1973DiedPablo Picasso
- 1974FeaturedHank Aaron Breaks Babe Ruth's Home Run Record
- 1981DiedOmar Bradley
- 2010EventObama and Medvedev Sign the New START Treaty
- 2013DiedMargaret Thatcher
- 2024EventTotal Solar Eclipse Crosses North America
Alive in 1974
OverlapSame years; not influence
Deng Xiaopingturned 70 this year
Elvis Presleyturned 39 this year
Emmanuel Levinasturned 68 this year
John Lennonturned 34 this year
Kofi Annanturned 36 this year
Margaret Thatcherturned 49 this year
Mother Teresaturned 64 this year
Nelson Mandelaturned 56 this year
Ronald Reaganturned 63 this year
Steve Jobsturned 19 this year
1 more figure was alive that year
On This Day in History
5 EventsVenus de Milo Discovered on Milos
The ancient Greek marble statue of Aphrodite — later known as the Venus de Milo — is unearthed on the island of Milos. The statue was created around 150–125 BC and its sculptor remains unknown.
France and Britain Sign the Entente Cordiale
France and the United Kingdom sign a series of agreements resolving colonial disputes and establishing a diplomatic alignment that would bring them together as allies in two world wars. The Entente Cordiale ended centuries of Anglo-French rivalry.
Hank Aaron Hits Home Run No. 715
Henry "Hank" Aaron hits his 715th career home run in Atlanta, surpassing Babe Ruth's legendary record of 714, which had stood since 1935. Aaron accomplished the feat while enduring years of racist death threats and harassment.
Obama and Medvedev Sign the New START Treaty
President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sign the New START Treaty in Prague, reducing both countries' deployed nuclear warheads and delivery systems. It was the most significant arms control agreement in two decades.
Total Solar Eclipse Crosses North America
A total solar eclipse sweeps a path from Mexico through the central and northeastern United States to Canada, drawing tens of millions of viewers. It was the last total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous United States until 2044.
Born on This Day
Kofi Annan
Ghanaian diplomat, 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations
Annan served as UN Secretary-General from 1997 to 2006 and was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001. He oversaw the creation of the Millennium Development Goals and championed the "Responsibility to Protect" doctrine, though the UN's failure in Rwanda under his watch as head of peacekeeping haunted him.
Vivienne Westwood
English fashion designer
Westwood was the mother of punk fashion, dressing the Sex Pistols in the late 1970s and building an empire out of subversion, corsetry, and tartan. She became one of Britain's most celebrated designers, and an outspoken environmental activist in her later years.
Mary Pickford
Canadian-American actress, co-founder of United Artists
"America's Sweetheart" was one of the most powerful people in Hollywood — not just a star but a shrewd producer and businesswoman who co-founded United Artists with Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith to control her own work.
Jacques Brel
Belgian singer-songwriter
Brel's intense, theatrical chanson performances made him one of the most celebrated artists in the French language. His songs — including "Ne Me Quitte Pas" and "Amsterdam" — transcended borders and were covered by artists from Nina Simone to David Bowie.
Betty Ford
First Lady of the United States, addiction recovery advocate
As First Lady, Ford broke taboos by speaking openly about her breast cancer, her addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs, and her support for the Equal Rights Amendment. She founded the Betty Ford Center in 1982, transforming how Americans discussed and treated addiction.
Harvey Cushing
American neurosurgeon
Cushing is regarded as the father of modern neurosurgery, developing techniques that transformed brain surgery from a near-certain death sentence into a viable procedure. He described Cushing's disease and won the Pulitzer Prize for his biography of neurologist Sir William Osler.
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Pablo Picasso
Spanish artist, co-founder of Cubism
The most influential artist of the 20th century, Picasso co-invented Cubism with Georges Braque, painted Guernica in response to the Spanish Civil War, and produced an enormous body of work across painting, sculpture, printmaking, and ceramics. He died at 91, working until the end.
Lorenzo de' Medici
Florentine ruler, "Lorenzo the Magnificent"
The political and cultural power at the center of the Italian Renaissance, Lorenzo used the Medici bank's wealth to patronize artists including Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and the young Michelangelo. His death and the subsequent collapse of Medici power helped end the golden age of Florentine art.
Margaret Thatcher
British Prime Minister, "The Iron Lady"
Britain's first female prime minister and longest-serving PM of the 20th century, Thatcher reshaped British society through radical free-market reforms, confronted the unions, won the Falklands War, and partnered with Reagan in ending the Cold War. No 20th-century leader was more divisive or more consequential.
Omar Bradley
American general, last five-star general of the U.S. Army
Bradley commanded the largest American field army in history during the D-Day campaign and the liberation of Western Europe — over 1.3 million soldiers. Modest and soldier-focused, he was called "the GI's general" by war correspondent Ernie Pyle.
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